If a report from the Japanese blog Macotakara is to be believed, Apple is planning on getting rid of the headphone jack in the next iPhone. As it attempts to once again shrink its flagship device, Apple is reportedly planning on shipping EarPods that connect through the Lighting port with the next iPhone in order to remove the thicker 3.5mm headphone jack. This is a bad idea.

Indeed it is. If Apple were to really remove the 3.5mm jack, it will do so for one reason: control. The 3.5mm jack is obviously an open standard, and Apple can do little to control what kind of headphones you use. Now that Apple owns a very popular brand of headphones, I'n sure the company is itching to lock consumers into its Lightning port.

Yes, apparently Thom can have independent thoughts about MacBooks not having PC vendors' crapware on it, versus iPhones being restrictive and walled-up. This (i.e. nuanced thought) is a good thing, a part of growing up.